Soulful, detailed, off-kilter – Putrika’s debut singles draw on her influences while stepping past them into a dense sonic world.

Born in Jakarta and now living in Sydney, Putrika is no stranger to hard work. Playing in short-lived bands throughout high school and university, she realised eventually that if she wanted to get her music out into the world, she’d have to become a producer and solo artist. That revelation, combined with her exposure to the Sydney music scene, led to the tunes we’re hearing from her now:

I started making music probably like 20 years ago, making random beats, in different high school and uni bands. Alway as a singer, that’s my main thing. Then two or three years ago, my band went different ways and I decided if I wanna keep making music, the way to do it is to be a solo producer. So I started making beats and learning Ableton three or four years ago.

I would say in Jakarta, in Indonesia in general, when you listen to radio or watch TV it’s pretty mainstream music. But when I moved to Sydney it opened up all this niche music that I’ve never heard before. I listened to FBi [and] it opened up my new musical knowledge.

Like most of us, life suddenly changed pace for Putrika in mid-2021 with the start of Sydney’s longest lockdown. The songwriter-producer-vocalist is used to high-speed living but embraced the slower lifestyle:

Rain on Tuesday was created last year in lockdown… on a rainy Tuesday. I forced myself to slow down, take your time, because growing up in Jakarta and living in Sydney you’re always in a rush, you always need to do everything really quick, but this song was kinda telling you like, okay, take your time and you’ll be ok.

That combination of the work ethic and joy in the slow pace show in her latest single Rain on Tuesday. But now, there’s an EP in the pipeline, and (fingers crossed!) plenty of live shows. Despite the laid-back tunes, Putrika isn’t slowing down.

Hear it for yourself. You can listen to Putrika’s full interview with Lill Scott of up, or stream her latest single ‘Rain on a Tuesday’ below.